The present invention relates generally to a vacuum canister or container for picking up and containing a fluid or a particulate material. More particularly, this invention relates to a vacuum canister for picking up and containing a hazardous fluid or particulate material or waste.
Hazardous material includes chemical, radioactive, corrosive agent, poison, biomedical or any other material which can endanger human health or well-being if handled improperly. Various types of devices have been suggested to reduce the danger to human health from improper handling of hazardous material.
One type of device for picking up and containing material is a vacuum cleaner-type device that uses a fan to draw particles into an unsealed container. The unsealed container, however, allows smaller sized particles to escape out an exhaust port. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,185,355; 4,325,162; 5,018,238; 5,084,937. Another type of device for containing material, particularly hazardous material, is a storage canister that can be sealed after the material has been placed within the canister. However, such a storage canister does not pick up the hazardous material for deposit into the canister. Such storage canisters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,328,423; 4,625,122; 4,633,091; 5,111,938. Still another type of device for containing material is a storage container provided with vacuum means to draw a vacuum within the container after it is filled with a hazardous material. Such a storage canister for containment of radioactive material is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,305.
There is a need for a vacuum canister for quickly picking up material, particularly hazardous material, and safely containing the material to reduce the risk to human health or well-being from handling the material improperly.